How does weather radar detect wind shear using Doppler data?

• A. By measuring reflectivity alone
• B. By counting precipitation particles
• C. By detecting abrupt changes in Doppler velocity indicating wind speed gradients
• D. By tracking aircraft positions

Answer: (C)

Doppler weather radar detects wind shear by using its Doppler data to look for abrupt changes in wind speed over short distances. The radar measures the velocity of precipitation particles along the line of sight, so when the wind speed or direction changes quickly across adjacent beams or range gates, you see a sharp gradient in the Doppler velocity. Those rapid variations—often seen as a velocity couplet with inbound and outbound velocities side by side—signal a shear zone in the atmosphere. Reflectivity alone only shows how much precipitation is there, not how fast it’s moving; counting particles isn’t how Doppler works; and tracking aircraft positions isn’t how weather radar assesses the wind field. So the option describing abrupt Doppler velocity changes that indicate wind speed gradients is the correct one.